Opposition politicians may occupy Parliament until January

The leader of the largest opposition party in the Polish legislature indicated on Thursday that his MPs may continue their protest until the next sitting of Parliament, after the Christmas Holidays, the Polish press reported. Grzegorz Schetyna, the leader of Civic Platform (PO) said, "We're discussing it [both with] Nowoczesna [another opposition party] we are together today at the Parliamentary hall. It seems that this will not change." Schetyna also reported that the government was still not taking the problem seriously. "When I hear such arguments, that someone [is] interfering with a festive atmosphere, the positive experience of the holidays, I say [no], because it's something really serious. It is parliamentary democracy with constitutional principles, something that you can not afford the political chutzpah," he told the press on Thursday. Meanwhile, Jarosław Kaczyński, the chairman of Poland's ruling PiS party, gave some indication that the government was willing to make concessions to the opposition. "We are still ready, after the situation calms down, and Parliament returns to normal, to take steps..." he reportedly said in an interview on Wednesday. Schetyna believes, however, that the situation represents a serious political crisis. "I did not expect that after a year to reach such a serious political crisis in Poland," he said.  Schetyna's party, along with the second-largest opposition party, Nowoczesna, is protesting the passing of the annual budget on Friday in the absence of Opposition members.